Mistakes Worth Making
by tresemellon
Summary: She wasn't supposed to do this. She was supposed to hate him, so why didn't she? Drinny fanfic.
1. That Pompous Git

**(A/N) So as far as I know this is my first Drinny fanfic on this site. Took me long enough. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

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"What do you mean it's too dangerous for me to come?" She stood there, feet planted in the ground shoulder width apart with her hands firmly on her hips. Her fire engine hair draped over her right shoulder in a low ponytail. Her big, chocolate eyes staring up at him with as much malice as she could muster in that current moment. Ginny Weasley was angry. Not her usual stroppy-teenager-angry but fiercely annoyed. She was overwhelmed with frustration. She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes but she willed them not to come, not then. If they rolled down her face then she knew she'd definitely never get the chance to accompany the Golden Trio.

"You're not strong enough for this if you're crying now," they'd say.  
"You're needed here."  
"You'll be safer here."

She knew what they really wanted to say, she just didn't want to accept it. "We don't need you to come, you'd be better off here." She already knew that, she wasn't dumb. She wasn't going to pretend that the Trio would suddenly be overjoyed by her asking to go. She knew they respected her, as did she them, but she knew that they didn't think she was capable to join.

"Gin." A soft voice spoke to her, snapping her back to reality. His hand reached out for her and he gave her a sad smile. This was the boy she would never say no to. She would always gladly accept any offers he made to her and yet he didn't seem to do the same. He seemed too willing to say no to her. Others could argue that he was only looking out for her. Ginny wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe that so desperately that it hurt her but she couldn't. Not when she knew that she wasn't worthy of being the Chosen One's lover.

"Harry," she replied, changing her look of anger to one of sadness, "It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I understand."

She turned on her heels, she could feel the salty tears eager to stream out of her eyes. She needed to get out of there, she didn't like looking vulnerable at the best of times. After all, she was Ginny Weasley; the fiery red-head female of the clan, sarcastic and humorous, strong and brave. She wouldn't cry, not in front of them. It would make her look weak.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want to turn around and she knew that they weren't going to force her to. They knew that nobody could force her to do anything, there wasn't any point in trying.

"Please just listen to me. Can we talk in private?"

Ginny sighed. She wanted to say no, but she couldn't. Who was she to say no to Harry Potter, the love of her life, the Chosen One, the one everyone was relying on. "Sure."

He ushered her away from Ron and Hermione who tried to look considerate by walking in the opposite direction for a few feet - although Hermione had to half drag Ron away, he was stubborn. He wanted to keep an eye on his best friend and his sister but Hermione wouldn't let him. "Leave them to it, Ronald."

When they had gotten out of ears distance he began to speak. "Look, Gin, you mean a lot to me, you really do. That's why I don't want you coming. I don't want you to get hurt. I know how Voldemort works, I know what he'll do-."

She cut him off. "So do I, Harry! Or have you completely forgotten?"

He looked taken aback. "I remember the Chamber, Ginny, I was the one who came after you, how would I be able to forget it. Since you know how he works that should be enough for you to know why I don't want you around us!"

She couldn't hold it back anymore as a flood began. She didn't even try to hide it. "You don't want me around," she whispered. It was barely audible but loud enough so Harry would hear it. "Go."

"No, Gin, no, that's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Leave me alone, Harry. Just go. Please."

He hesitated for a moment, considering giving the crying girl a hug but he thought against it and walked back to his friends. He knew if he tried to do otherwise he could end up on the end of one of Ginny's infamous Bat-Bogey hexes and word on the street was they weren't pretty.

Ginny walked in the opposite direction. Great, crying in public, how pathetic. She almost hadn't noticed she was heading for a group of people. She almost hadn't noticed that those people didn't realise they were heading for her. She almost didn't notice platinum blonde hair poking out of the top of the crowd.

**THUMP**

She definitely didn't notice that she walked straight into someone, their books going everywhere. As she stumbled to pick all the things up while trying to avoid to stain them with tears she heard them speak.

"Watch it would you."

"I'm sorry," she said between sniffs, handing the person their books. She wiped her cheeks with her robe sleeve and looked up, taking a step back in disgust. "Oh, Malfoy, what a pleasure."

"You'd wanna mind where you're going, Weaslette," he hissed, not looking at her face.

"Me? ME! You can't just blame me, you obviously weren't looking where you were walking either!" she shouted. She lost her temper very easily. This didn't help the whole trying-not-to-cry-in-public problem as it started again, like a water fountain.

"Shut up, you blood-traitor, I-," he stopped talking when he looked down at her. A shocked expression spread upon his face. "Weasley, stop crying I didn't mean it." He tried to calm down the sobbing girl but to no avail, her sobs weren't going to silence any time soon and people were starting to stare. He sighed in annoyance as he brought the girl over to a quiet part of the hallway.

"Weasley, if I knew I was going to make you cry I wouldn't have said anything."

Ginny scoffed. "You didn't make me cry, don't flatter yourself, you pompous git."

His eyes rounded slightly in surprised, almost smashing his perfectly cold façade he had going on. "I didn't?"

She shook her head.

"Then who? You were fine before you rudely bumped into me."

"No I wasn't. God, you're such an idiot," she muttered. She didn't want to waste any more time in the presence of Mr Malfoy. In a weak attempt to go on her not-so-merry way she tried to push her way past him. This, of course, was useless as he put his hands on her shoulders and kept her from leaving the corridor.

"You're not going anyway, Weasley," he muttered. This girl was frustrating him. "Look, I'm trying to be nice, the least you can do is just let me."

"You? Nice? Don't make me laugh," she glared, although the wet eyes made her signature stare much less menacing.

"Look, I don't just go out of my way to try and help people, it's hard work. But if you want to just pathetically sob through the corridors then suit yourself."

He turned to leave. She didn't know why she did it. She didn't know what came over her but she did it anyway. She yanked on his robe causing him to turn back around and face her. The tears were coming faster now.

"Please, don't go," she whispered.

"And why not?"

She looked into his eyes. "I don't want to be alone." She sniffed.

Draco was conflicted, it would be very unlike him to stay with the sniffling Gryffindor, but it was also unlike him to associate civilly with one which he was already doing. If he was going to do anything, it may as well be now. Besides, it wasn't her he had something against, it was the Golden Trio. She was merely just a side dish to the main course he truly despised.

"Why? Why should I stay?" he asked, looking at her quizzingly.

She didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't come up with an answer to his question. All she knew was she didn't want to be in the state she was in alone. She'd rather be with Malfoy like this than be alone like this. "I don't know."

"That's what I thought," he muttered. He slid down the wall until he was sat on the floor. Ginny looked down at him.

"You're not leaving?"

"Should I?" he said, avoiding her gaze and choosing to look straight ahead at the opposite wall.

"I'd expect you to," she replied honestly. It was the truth. She did expect him to. Never would she expect a Slytherin to stay and chat with her, let alone the blonde idiot sat on the ground next to her now.

"So would I," he said. "But I'm not, so you might as well make yourself comfortable, Weasley." He patted the ground next to him, motioning her to sit down. He could sense she was weary about doing so, even without looking at her. Most people would be. Heck, even his own friends seemed weary about sitting with him. Except for Pansy. He could never get her to leave him alone if he tried. Sure, he considered her a good friend at one point and held some sort of feelings towards her, but now he couldn't be bothered being anywhere near the brunette. He just didn't care for her anymore.

Ginny, eventually, sat down next to him. She didn't want to get too close so she left a good four or five feet between them. Draco looked irritated at the distance and muttered, "I'm not going to bite you, you know."

This caused Ginny to shuffle ever so slightly to the left, not wanted to burst the personal bubbles but not wanted to leave Malfoy offended. She should be overjoyed that he actually stuck around for her, it was something that would more than likely never happen again, she should take advantage.

"Why did you stay?" she asked.

His face screwed up slightly as if he was trying to think of a reply to satisfy the redhead. "I just did, okay. I felt like it. Besides, I couldn't have you running off crying, everyone who saw you with me out there would just assume I was who made you upset."

She nodded at this, but when she realised that he wasn't looking at her she just hummed in understanding.

"So tell me, who made you this upset. It's not everyday someone sees you crying," he turned his face to her. A few small drops rolled down her cheeks but her sobs had been reduced to almost nothing by that point.

"Bloody Harry Potter," she muttered, almost incomprehensibly but he managed to decipher the irritated grumble.

He smirked. "Finally realised what he's like, eh?" He expected her to hit him, but she didn't. She didn't act violent at all. She didn't seem to react at all. The most of a reaction she gave was folding her arms across her body as if she was trying to hug herself. "What happened?"

And it was then that Ginny Weasley spilled her heart open to the person who was supposed to be her enemy. She spilled her heart to the pompous git sat next to her who, surprisingly, didn't mock or laugh like she'd imagine he would. She spilled her heart to the blonde boy in her company who didn't judge her and make snide comments. She spilled her heart to Draco Malfoy. And she didn't know why.


	2. Ginny

Days went past. Then weeks. Months. And they didn't return. She was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing them again. She felt lonely, as if a piece of her was missing; and it was. She was a finished jigsaw puzzle before they left and now on the puzzle of Ginny Weasley, it appeared that there was a hole in her chest where her heart should be. She was no longer intact. She was missing a vital piece of herself. And they took it without her consent.

She found herself crying a lot. Strong Ginny Weasley was blubbering like a newborn baby for what seemed constantly. The people who stuck by her didn't know what to do for her.

Neville was sweet to her, giving her small hugs, smiles, asking if she was okay. She knew it was hard for him as well so she appreciated the kindness of his gestures.

Luna was her usual kooky self. Instead of focussing on asking if Ginny was alright, she was able to take her mind off of everyone's worries by discussing topics too weird for the normal person. And it worked every time.

She was sat the the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. It was a half hour early for dinner yet but she wanted to be alone. The Hall never filled up until the food was practically on the table so she knew she'd be able to have some quiet time to think. She was sat smack-bam in the middle, halfway between the front of the room and halfway between the back of the room.

It was always a lot emptier now. Not many parents sent their children back that year, they were all too worried for their sons' and daughters' healths. Ginny couldn't blame them. Hogwarts wasn't what it used to be. The corridors were less packed, everyone's faces looked tired and worn, the dorms were emptier, children were less friendly. Everyone kept to themselves. The atmosphere was constantly tense. It almost felt as if the remaining students were intruding on the peace.

Ten minutes went by before she saw a group of Slytherins walk in and take their places at the table opposite her. If this was last year, or even the year before that she would have groaned and turned her head away. But now nobody seemed to care about houses or pride, they were all in the same boat; scared out of their minds trying to just get by.

She felt eyes on her, she scanned the room. _Nope, nope, nope, nope, n-yes. _That was when she saw the same blonde she told everything to. She felt her stomach turn violently and she clutched it, she felt like she was going to be sick. But it subsided and she regained her posture soon enough. His eyes were fixed on her. She saw the slightest curve in his lips, she assumed this was his attempt at a friendly smile and returned the gesture, her smile being the more friendly of the two - as if that was a hard thing to accomplish - and saw a flicker in his eyes. She couldn't read the emotion properly but one thing she knew for certain was that it wasn't negativity. It seemed almost human.

In all her efforts to try and suss the boy out, she almost didn't realise Neville walk into the room - accompanied by Luna who, of course, took a seat at the Ravenclaw table - and an plateau of food appeared on the table out of thin air. He sat down opposite her.

"Hey, Ginny," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"Oh, hello, Neville," she replied.

"How are you, I've barely seen you around today," he said, putting food onto his plate.

Through a mouthful of chicken she tried to reply but it came out as an incomprehensible jumble of grunts and groans so she waited until her food was gone to speak. "I'm okay, been catching up on some homework," she said, pulling a face of annoyance at the boy. "You?"

"Oh, I'm the same as always."

She admired his positivity. She didn't know how he managed to stay so cheerful at a time like this but she supposed somebody has to as she took a forkful of potato off of her plate and into her mouth. She nodded.

Before long, the room was full. Well, as full as it was ever going to get under the current circumstances. When Ginny finally accepted she was full and wasn't able to take another bite of _anything_, she excused herself, gave a smile to Neville who decided he was going to stick around for a bit longer (which she translated to "I'm going to wait until I see Luna get up") and made her way out of the Great Hall.

She heard footsteps echo behind her but she continued walking. _It's probably coincidence they're coming this way_. But that thought was quickly disproved as they shouted, "Hey, wait up!"

She looked over her shoulder to see the speaker ten feet away attempting to keep up with her quick pace. "Oh, what do you want?"

He stopped walking, he didn't fancy getting too close to her in case she snapped at him. "Wanted to see how you're doing is all."

"Pfft," she scoffed. "You're Draco Malfoy, you don't just see how 'people are doing.'"

She couldn't help but notice a sadness in his eyes at this but he quickly composed himself. He shifted his weight evenly between his too legs instead of leaning against the wall and regained his usual perfect posture.

"Hurtful," he smirked. This turning of his lips was much different than the one he showed in the Great Hall. That ones had friendliness behind him, this one wasn't a look Ginny was quick to trust. He turned his back to her. "You'd think you'd trust me after I sat around and listened to you moaning."

Her temper fired up like petrol poured onto a flame. "Hey, you didn't have to stick around you know! Nobody was **forcing** you to!"

Her hands curled into tight fists, her nails were digging into the palms of her hands and her eyes narrowed at the blonde.

He didn't respond with anything other than a somewhat villainous chuckle. He didn't turn around, didn't move; he stayed perfectly still as if he had become a statues. That is, of course, until he slowly manoeuvred himself to face her. He kept eye contact with him at all times. He had been told that his gaze often left people feeling intimidated and, boy, was he aware of _that_.

"Could it be that it was just a friendly gesture?"

He smiled.

Not a sweet smile, but a sickening one.

"I-," Ginny began before she was interrupted.

"Oh, I know, how foolish of me to suggest such a thing. Malfoys are **never** friendly, huh, Weasley?"

His current demeanour was making Ginny tense. She became subdued, she didn't answer his question. She wasn't actually quite sure if she was supposed to answer his question as it was most likely rhetorical, twisting her own words and using them against her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He smirked at her.


	3. The Rumour Mill

**A/N I am so sorry that I haven't updated this in the longest time! Without making too many excuses and without going into too much detail, I've been going through a bad patch for the past year or so and I needed to take a hiatus to take care of my mental health.**

**If you're still here, I am so appreciative of you waiting for me. This pathetic excuse of a chapter is for you 3 I'm trying to get back on the horse so just bear with me is all I can ask. The next will be better. As far as I know, I'm back for good.**

**If you're new, welcome. I hope you enjoy 3**

**I love you guys. Please review.**

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She found herself unable to looks up at him. She really shouldn't care this much about his feelings, after all, when had they ever cared about each other? But part of her wanted to put it behind her. At the moment, it wasn't Malfoy who was hurting her and that was good enough for her.

Maybe it was the absence of the Golden Trio that was making her act this way. Maybe they had pushed her in this direction, but suddenly she was feeling positive and she couldn't explain why.

"You're not so bad, are you, Malfoy," she remarked, finally looking him in the eyes.

"Took you long enough to realise that," he replied, scoffing.

"I was a little blinded, I suppose."

Malfoy smirked once again. With her idiot brother, Mudblood, and Scarface out of the way, he was able to see Ginny for who she was. It was in that moment that he had realised that his previous judgements had been totally irrational and uncalled for.

"And you're not so bad yourself, Weaslette."

"Shove off, Malfoy."

"You know what," he started. He cleared his throat. "I like that I know what you're about now. Without being in the shadow of Potter and co. Apologies are in order, I misjudged you. I'm sorry."

Ginny didn't know quite what to say. Or even why it was being said. In honesty, she was confused.

"What are you on about, Malfoy?"

"Just that I'm aware I haven't been too kind."

"Well done, Captain Obvious. What else is new?"

He took a small step forward. It would have been barely noticeable to anybody else but the Ginny it was a big gesture. Usually when someone was getting close to her like this it was either unwanted attention or someone trying to start a fight with her (which, she always liked to point out to people, was a big mistake. You couldn't grow up in her family without becoming a little feisty. A quality most seemed to forget, which she always used to her advantage.)

But this felt different.

She felt no malice coming from him, nothing uncomfortable or awkward.

Not kind. It didn't feel kind.

But it felt, strange.

And slightly intimate.

Intimate.

Her face flushed.

"You're a little red, Weasel. You're not falling for me are you?" He winked at her.

"Shove off."

"Damn, feisty, aren't you?"

"People always forget. I use it to my advantage."

"I'm sure you do, Weaslette. Wouldn't mind you showing me sometime just how feisty you can get."

He spoke low so the only person who could hear was her.

They had been talking together for so long now that people were beginning to stare as they walked past. This wasn't normal: a Weasley and a Malfoy, getting along, in public. It wasn't long before rumours began to circulate.

Ginny heard things people had been saying a few days later. She was awoken with the sounds of teenage girls squeaking about how "oh-so controversial their relationship is" and how "Harry will be so disappointed when he returns", but it was the sound of "I wonder what their sex life is like, I bet he's proper good" that got her jumping out of bed and into the bathroom before anybody could talk to her.

She did the usual face-washing and teeth-brushing and robe-putting-on before fixing her current bed head and making herself look presentable before going downstairs to the common room.

She felt like she was in the middle of a teenage girl rom-com. Everything was happening as if it was a film. The choreographed heads turning to face her. She quietening of voices. The odd hushed whisper. The awkwardness of having to excuse herself before leaving the room.

Ginny hurriedly walked towards the Great Hall. Draco was sat there at the Slytherin table, alone. When Ginny walked in, his eyes immediately flickered upwards, almost as if he'd been waiting for her. He tidied away his stuff and walked over to her.

"Morning, Weasel."

"Morning."

"Jeez, you look moody today."

"Well, you would be too if you woke up to the conversation of our sex life," she retorted.

"Excuse me, our what?"

"You heard me. It was the weirdest thing. Have you been saying anything about us to anybody?"

"Well, there's nothing about 'us' for me to tell anybody."

"Right. Nobody this morning was speaking to me. They were just speaking about me, but as soon as I showed up they went silent."

"Well," Malfoy began, "maybe they feel threatened. The presence of a Slytherin infiltrating the palace of lions would be enough the make most Gryfs shudder in their sleep."

"You're awful cocky. You're not all that."

"I'd beg to differ. If you didn't think I'm good enough, why are you willingly speaking to me. I'm pretty sure, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this only be fuel for their fire for the rumour mill?"

"I guess. I'll go then."

"That's unnecessary, Weasley. Besides, your company is something I could get used to."

The face flushing was happening again.

She tried to hide it but he wouldn't let her.

He tutted. "Look at you, getting all riled up." He began to speak low again, just as he had the day before. "You'll be giving people the wrong impression if you keep acting like this. Unless of course, that's what you want to do. I'll be seeing you."

He nodded and walked away. And she was left just as confused as she had been the first time they'd spoken. At this point, she was willing to think that she was getting ill. That was the only explanation.


	4. Coming Down With The Flu

**A/N Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this little update :) any questions, suggestions, comments, feel free to leave a review :)**

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Draco headed towards the dungeons. He had finished breakfast by the time Ginny had made her way to the Great Hall, and had made plans with Blaise to meet him at the common room before their first class - which was potions, which filled him with great joy - but before he could even make it that far, he was deafened by the sound of thudding steps and a slap.

"What the fuck, Draco?"

It was a girl, currently screaming at him in the middle of the corridor. Students were beginning to gather is groups and stare.

"What, Pansy?" he replied. He had no time for her dramatics today.

"The fuck do you think you're doing shagging some blood traitor Weasley?"

He sighed. Word spread quicker than he thought. "What are you on about?"

"I'm on about, why did I need the first thing I heard in the morning to be about you and that fucking girl going at it behind my back?"

"You're delusional. There's nothing going on with us-"

"Good," she cut him off.

"-or with myself and Weasel."

Draco had succeeded in showing her up in front of a large number of the student body. He knew he was in for it now, people don't just mess with Parkinson and escape unharmed. But to his surprise, instead of her instigating further confrontation, she just turned on her heels and speedily walked away.

"Watch it!" he heard her shout, following a muffled thud.

Blaise walked around the corner with confusion spread across his features. "I've been hearing some thing, Drake. And by the looks of Parkinson, so have you."

They both chuckled. "Definitely," replied the blond.

"Can I just ask, and no judgement if it's true, she's hot, but is it true what they're saying? About you and Weasel's sister?"

"People have gotten the wrong idea. I was just speaking to her yesterday. Guess I should have expected something. But in short, no, I'm not shagging a blood traitor."

"So she's free for the kill then?" Blaise winked.

"Do what you want, you knob. I'll give her this, she's a lot more attractive now she's dumped Potter and the gang."

"Oh, has she?"

"Yes," replied Draco, nonchalantly. "That's what we were talking about. She was upset."

"Aw, the big bad Malfoy, swooping in to save the day. Bet she was swooning over you."

"Actually, just a few insults were passed and then we parted ways."

"Damn, so there really isn't any gossip," Blaise said, sounding somewhat sad.

"You girl."

-x-

"There's the girl of the hour," Neville winked.

"Shut up, Nev," she replied. She laughed a little bit, but tried to cut it short in case she sounded off, she was still feeling a little flushed from her encounter with Malfoy that morning.

"Everyone's talking about you. Is it true?"

"No, why would you even think that? As if I'd get off with him," she replied matter-of-factly.

"I guess. I don't believe it, but some girls are apparently distraught over it. He's definitely Mr. Popular amongst them."

"So I've heard."

Ginny had heard a lot about Mr. Malfoy in her time. But the things she heard from the people in her dormitory were completely different to the things her family and friends said. It wasn't until halfway through her second year that she had noticed that not everyone held a grudge against him. He was the focal point for many young girls' fantasies.

Except for herself.

Her fantasies consisted of not elbowing the butter dish around famous boys.

"Let them be distraught," she rounded off. "It'd be pretty funny, I think."

Neville chuckled. "It already is to be honest. And it's not just the girls' hearts that are broken. Just look at the guys in the common room when you head back up there and you'll see what I mean."

"Oh, Merlin."

Footsteps approached behind her. "That's just what I was thinking too, Weasley."

She turned. And there was that platinum hair once more. "Yes?"

"I got confronted in the corridor because of you."

"That's hardly my fault, you're not doing anything to help yourself by being here right now talking to me."

"That is true," his mouth twitched upwards into an amused smirk. "Parkinson's pissed."

"Aw," she smiled, "trouble in paradise?"

"Jeez, Weasley, 'paradise' hasn't existed since we were about 12. Well, at least for me. The girl is moronic."

"Took you long enough to realise that."

"Jealous?"

"Hardly," she stuck her hands on her hips in a defiant position.

"What are you staring at, Longbottom?"

"Oi, shove it, Malfoy," Ginny hissed.

"Nah, Gin, it's alright, I need to head off now anyway. I'll see you later." He walked away, leaving behind Zabini and Malfoy to entertain the damsel in distress.

"You guys are quite the thing of gossip today. Usually I don't see you shying away from attention, Drake," Blaise said, finally creeping away from his position of silence.

"I like good attention."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean, you git?"

"You're not good attention for me, Red."

Ginny huffed. "I'm good attention for anybody, let's be real." The way she spoke was almost seductive. It would be seductive, Draco thought, if she wasn't from a blood traitor family.

They didn't exchange goodbyes. They didn't smile, acknowledge the other, or anything of the kind. They just naturally parted ways.

Ginny didn't know how the day was going to turn out. It was already off to a weird start. And the fact that some people actually believed the stuff they had been hearing (she noted to herself to clear up the rumours with her circle of friends) baffled her.

They weren't friends. They weren't even friendly. They just spoke, twice. Now thrice. And for some reason, they were grounds for things to spiral downwards.

And for some reason she couldn't get him off her mind or out of her head.

And for some reason she wasn't missing her Harry anymore.

And for some reason she didn't want him to be her Harry anymore.

And for some reason she did want him to be her Draco.

And for some reason she knew she was going down.

And for some reason she headed to the hospital wing because she was now positive she was sick.


	5. Convenient Meetings

**A/N Right so this is quicker than my last update, but still slow. Sue me. I'm sorry. I'm trying to get back into the swing of this. And I'm sorry this update is so short. I'll try and do better, longer updates in the future. (Not that anybody actually cares though lol.)**

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Ginny hurriedly made her way to the hospital wing. She was positive there was something wrong with her. She must be coming down with a flu. Or a concussion. Anything at this point would explain her willingness to be seen with a Malfoy in public.

And suddenly a thought dawned on her. _What if my family find out about this? _

She erased the thought from her mind. There was a time and a place for mid-life crises and right now was not the time or the place. Now was the time for lying down with ice on her forehead as she had some time to get herself together. Obviously she was only like this because her precious Chosen One had abandoned her. Obviously she was only like this because she was settling for anybody to talk to. She didn't really care. If I don't care so much, she thought, then why am I thinking about this so much. She put it down to confusion. Confusion due to her being in a vulnerable state. That excuse was good enough for her.

"What does he mean I'm not good attention?" she whispered. "I'm great attention. I'm so fun."

"Well, nobody exactly thinks that being seen with someone who talks to herself in a secluded part of the school to be good attention for them. You'll bring down everyone's reputation."

She swivelled round quickly. Ginny sighed. "Parkinson."

"Weasley."

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm actually busy right now. So if you don't mind."

Pansy caught Ginny by the wrist. "Not so fast, you little bitch. You might think you're all high and mighty right now but trust me, this little Draco cloud you're in at the moment is going to begin to rain any second now. And I'll make sure of it."

Ginny chuckled. "I honestly haven't got a clue what you're on about."

"You have eyes for my man and that stops right now, you hear me? Draco is not available to anybody except for me. Especially not a filthy blood traitor like yourself."

"Aw what a shame, was really hoping to bone a pompous pureblood." Ginny rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how daft this girl was being. In a split second she felt bad for Draco. This girl really was moronic. Too much baggage for Ginny to even think about trying to handle.

Pansy scoffed, released the redhead, and carried on walking. Conveniently enough, Ginny was a matter of yards away from the hospital wing. Just the very destination she was after. She took one step inside and instantly regretted it, because the first thing she was was that distinctive white hair.

She tried to sneak past him undetected but he was too smart for that game.

"Bored of me already, Weasley? Or are we just scared?"

She turned to his direction to see that he was giving a cold, hard stare in her direction.

"Of course not, Malfoy. You're hardly threatening."

"Shame."

"What are you here for?" she inquired. She shifted her weight onto her right leg, popping her hip out slightly.

"I'm pretty sure I'm sick, coming down with something, I haven't felt right the past few days."

"Funny. Same as me. I blame you."

"Still cheeky in the face of sickness, how brave."

She smirked. "Amusing. Where's Madame Pomfrey?"

"She is currently tending to me. Obviously. She's just gone to get me something. Probably  
some medicine."

As if by magic, Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room. "I thought I heard voices. This is for you, Mr Malfoy." She thrust a glass of water into his open hand. He stared down at it disapprovingly and an expression of confusion spread across his features.

"Water?"

"You're not sick, Mr Malfoy."

He scoffed, took a sip of water, and resumed staring at Ginny. He could sense he was making her feel nervous.

"And what's the matter with you, Ms Weasley?"

She could feel his stare radiating through her body. His eyes were burning her through her clothes. And suddenly she didn't feel so sick anymore. "You know what, I'm fully okay now. I'll be off."

She turned on her heels and made her way out of the hospital wing as fast as she could.

"You're not getting away from me that quick, Weasley. Wanna talk?"


	6. The Adonis Plans

**A/N This took me a little while to get up, and seeing as though it's such a short update I really have no excuse except for I was a bit busy. I pre-ordered Cursed Child today and I'm going to the midnight launch for it at my local book store so that's some good news I guess.**

**This part is a lot shorter than I intended it to be, and I do apologise to that for those reading who appreciate longer updates (for whom I suggest reading my other story, Birth Of A Star, instead where all of my updates are going to be at least 2000 words!) but shorter updates are a lot easier for me to write for something like this. Honestly I lost my inspiration for this for a while and was genuinely considering scrapping it altogether but then I really gave it some thought and saw that there are 20 people following this story. That would mean 20 people I would be letting down and I can't bring myself to do that. So for those 20 people who believe in me and my story, the rest of Mistakes Worth Making is dedicated to you, whether you've been there since the beginning all the way back two years ago in 2014 or if you've jumped on board the Mistakes Worth Making train along the way. **

**I'd love to hear any feedback you guys have, good or bad. Because it really does mean a lot to me. Thank you for being my inspiration when it's so hard to find any. Thank you for being my supporters, my friends, my muse. Thank you for being a comfort to me. Thank you. I am not giving up on this. x**

**-tresemellon**

* * *

Talking was the last thing on Ginny's mind. She didn't even want to be around Draco; the mere thought of him alone was enough to make her stomach turn and she had had enough of the nauseating tidal wave rushing through every crevice of her body by being around him. But another part of her felt like it would be rude to refuse his offer. She didn't dislike him so she gathered there was no reason to act meanly to the boy. After all, he had offered her comfort when nobody else had. Reluctantly she nodded and the two walked side-by-side away from the hospital wing in the direction of where Pansy Parkinson still was, her dark eyes piercing into Ginny's face as if she was trying to kill her for being within a close distance of "her man."

In a hushed tone, careful not to be heard, Ginny said, "How do you even put up with that?"

"Put up with what?" Draco replied.

Ginny didn't know whether or not he was being serious or was trying to make a joke. "You know. Parkinson."

"Jealous are we, Weasley?"

"Concerned actually," she muttered. "She seems like a right handful. Did I mention she threatened me earlier?"

Draco stopped for a second and grabbed Ginny's shoulder to spin her around. His eyes darted to make eye contact with her. "Threatened?"

"Let's just say she's not a happy camper. She hated me to begin with but now you've made her hate me more!" The young redhead always felt better after a shout, though this was one of the rare moments where she actually felt bad for the party she lashed out at. "Sorry. Not your fault."

"Actually, Gin, entirely my fault," he whispered. "I'd be jealous of you too getting to spend so much one-on-one time with a fine specimen like myself."

"You suck, you know that?" Ginny laughed.

Shrugging, Draco replied, "I own it."

"I mean, that's all fine and dandy but I have a crazy girl after me now. I can't deal with that sort of stress, Malfoy."

"Wait. You're serious?"

"Deadly."

A few moments of silence passed between the two teenagers. Draco spent them deep in thought, his features twisting into an expression of confusion, his thumbs twiddling, his breathing oddly regular. Ginny had never seen anybody so concentrated on something in all of her life. Then again, none of her friends were really the types to concentrate hard on something, and then her family - forget it. The most concentrated of them all were Fred and George when they were inventing some wacky sweet to prank people. But this was something else altogether. She almost felt a sense of admiration.

"I have an idea, Weasley," he began, "of how to get Pansy off your back. I know her, unfortunately quite well. We were friends for a long time. I think she thinks we still are. I mean, I associate with her at a distance, but only because we have mutuals. But her obsession with me is one that I know how to control."

"Damn, you're not making yourself sound cocky at all," Ginny said, her eyes rolling into another dimension.

"I'm very cocky. In a good way of course. Maybe you'll know that one day."

"Don't count on it," she replied.

"Anyway, I have an idea. You just need to trust me on it."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Ah now, Weasel. What is the fun of that? Can't have you knowing anything or you'll mess it up. That's if you're anything like your idiot of a brother."

"Can't go two seconds without insults can you, Malfoy?"

"It's all part of my charm." He winked at her. "But from here on out, plan is in effect."

Ginny didn't know what she had gotten herself into. Only about an hour ago she was kicking herself for even associating with the Slytherin in the first place, but now she was going along with one of his plans without being consulted about it or knowing even the simplest of information about it.

_Definitely sick, _she thought.


	7. The Letter

**A/N I'm trying really hard to shove updates out quickly now to make up for lost time. I have motivation to write at the moment so I want to try and use it for the short while that it actually exists! Thank you to all the people who have given feedback to me, I appreciate it a lot.**

**Short updates really are growing on me for this story. I'm definitely going to keep them short and regular. It wasn't the original plan, but concepts change I suppose. The main thing is that people are enjoying it and that's really what matters to me. Thank you to all.**

**Without further ado, here's part 7 of Mistakes Worth Making. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The beauty of being apart from somebody for a while is you're able to truly see if you miss them. You're able to see if being apart from them for a long time takes its toll on you, or whether it's just a fleeting thing. In this instance, Ginny had been struggling to make it on her own without the comfort of knowing Draco Malfoy would be there, which was a feeling she'd never imagined she'd feel about the son of her family's enemies.

They hadn't spoken in almost three weeks. Part of the plan, she assumed. But nonetheless, it made her sad. Sure, she had her friends, but she didn't feel like she could open up to them about the things she talked about with Draco, and that was the concerning part. She missed him. And the painful part was she didn't think he missed her. Maybe she was just another Pansy to him: somebody pretty to look at for a small time but grows boring and irritating soon later.

**. . .**

The Gryffindor table felt quite vacant to Ginny that morning. It appeared that many of the people weren't present. It wasn't that Ginny minded, in fact she quite enjoyed being able to be at peace with her mind and thoughts for one morning, but it just felt a little bit odd to her. It wasn't a usual occurrence and Ginny wasn't a big fan of change.

The owls, however, stopped for nobody, and continued their postal delivery service as usual. White and brown splotched across the ceiling of the room, dancing with the dust of the floating candles and they hovered over their targets before dropping a parcel in their hands (or food, if the receiver was unlucky enough.) Ginny never paid attention to this time of day because if there was any ever post for her it was always given to Ron to give to her, and it was only when an owl dropped a letter into her lap did it occur to her that her brother wasn't there. She'd forgotten.

In dazzling cursive her name was written on the front of an envelope. She turned the envelope over and undid the seal, ripping the envelope open and taking the contents out to examine. It was a letter.

_Weasley,_

_I am sorry for my absence in your presence lately. How un-gentlemanly of me. But I promise I'll make it up to you. I haven't forgotten about you so don't worry about that. In fact, quite the opposite, you've been plaguing my mind since we last spoke. You vixen. _

_Remember that plan I was telling you about? Think of this as stage one. Right now as you're reading this, I am sat opposite you. Don't look up at me just yet. I'm with my friends. Parkinson is here. Imagine that you're reading something really heartfelt. Maybe shed a tear if you can, for dramatic effect! _

_Now look for me. Scan the people until you spot me. Give me a smile and a small wave, I'll return the gesture. _

_The message is concluding now. Smile down at the parchment, beam at it, show off those pearly whites to the words written on the page. _

_Next what you want to do is make your way over to me. Say something like "That was beautiful" and walk away. That's all. Trust me._

_D.M_

Ginny's mind raced with thoughts. For a starter, it was one of the most stupid things she had ever read in her life, and that was something alright. And another thing was she didn't understand how this would help anything. But now wasn't really the time for asking questions so she decided to follow what Draco had instructed her to do. She got up from her place, folding the letter into her hand, and walked over to the Slytherin table.

"Draco," she said, catching the attention of the boy," that was beautiful. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, my dear," he replied, smiling.

Ginny walked away from the table, overhearing the disgusted voices of his friends, with one female voice reaching a higher volume than all the rest. She didn't feel like this accomplished anything. In fact, she felt like it made it worse. Now instead of just one angry Pansy Parkinson after her, she imagined she'd have the full Malfoy squad waiting for the right opportunity to skin her alive.

_Great, _she thought, _all that achieved was making me seem like an idiot. _She left the Great Hall, forgetting all about her breakfast that was going cold in its isolation.


	8. Sweet Nothings

**A/N I quite like where this is going now actually so I really hope you guys are :-) Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I hope you're all having a good day.**

**Thank you to Malhearst for listening to my complaints and helping me see solutions. Thank you to WeasleyIsMyKing for being my support system for the past while. You're both very appreciated. I thank you dearly. **

* * *

A few minutes after the letter in the Great Hall, Ginny found herself in the Common Room in the corner, huddled in an armchair. She watched as heavy rain knocked heavily against the window pane and rolled down until it was eventually out of sight and out of mind. The clouds were weeping. The sky was grey. The fire was roaring. People were running about trying to complete their week-end homework. Ginny, being Ginny, had it completed already, so that was one thing off her mind.

She couldn't help but feel somewhat like she was being used. Was she just a pawn in Draco Malfoy's game? That would make a lot more sense than anything else that had been going on for the past few months. It would definitely explain why he was being so nice to her. Maybe all of his friends were in on this "game."

Ginny caught herself feeling immense pity for herself and sadness, immediately ringing a warning bell in her mind. Why should it matter to her? It wasn't as if they were friends or anything. Or were they? Ginny found herself doubting herself more than ever. Conflictions arose in her thoughts and in that moment she didn't know why she had been making the decisions she had been.

Ginny's deep thoughts were interrupted sharply by a high-pitched voice piercing the room, anger lashing out at the world, incredibly suitable for the storm that was raging outside of the castle. The girl had brought the thunderstorm inside of the common room and at that time, everybody was getting pelted with the drops of fury she was unleashing.

"Weasley," she shouted, making her way over to Ginny, shoving past the people crowding the way who had now turned to look at the redhead crouched in the corner.

"What is it, Lavender?" Ginny had gotten used to Lavender Brown's outbursts. Ever since the messy break-up between her and her brother, Lavender seemed to hold some sort of weird resentment towards Ginny, despite the fact she had no involvement with the Brown-Weasley failed relationship.

"Looks like we have a traitor in our midst."

Ginny's eyes rolled. "Excuse me?"

"Don't act like you don't know. Malfoy."

It took Ginny a couple of moments to put two and two together and realise what Lavender was talking about. _That git. _Ginny decided it was best, however, to take a different road and play dumb. She wanted to know exactly what it was that Lavender was implying.

"Sorry, haven't got a clue."

"Word on the street is that Malfoy has himself a new little toy. Forgotten about Harry, have you?"

"Trying to forget about him, Lavender," Ginny replied, in a hushed tone. She'd recently gotten thoughts of her ex-boyfriend out of her head, and now that Lavender had pushed that name back into her thoughts, all of her happy places were stabbed and she felt a sharp sadness.

"You're going about it the wrong way, Weasley. You're insane. People are talking, you know. And it's bringing a really bad association to our house - _my_ house - and I won't stand for it."

"Lavender, people have been talking about that for weeks now," Ginny began, trying to keep her cool and keep control of her voice which threatened to tremble with sadness and anger, "and with all due respect, even if I was with Malfoy, what difference would it make to you?"

"Think about Ron. What would he think if he knew his sister was going out with his worst enemy," Lavender barked.

"Would you ever get over him, seriously. You're disgusting."

And with her final sentence uttered, Ginny picked up her things and raced out of the room. She was certain that Lavender would have something else to say to that but she didn't want to stick around long enough to hear her speak again. She just wanted to get away from the horrified looks of her peers and the whispering of her classmates.

**. . .**

Aimless walking in an attempt to stop tears from falling wasn't exactly what Ginny Weasley had expected to be doing mid-day on a Saturday, but it's what she'd found herself doing for the past hour. She had spent a lot of time circling the castle grounds, slipping in and out between warmth and cold, in and out between on-coming pedestrians, in and out between the stares.

"Wanna talk about it?"

The voice alone was enough to make her burst into tears and she turned around. Gazing up, she saw the blond boy standing, head cocked to the side with his hands deeply thrust into his trouser pockets. Without warning, Ginny hugged him and let the cotton of his clothes absorb the tears rolling down her cheeks like the rain had been earlier on the windows.

Draco stood there awkwardly for a few moments and caught gazes from passer-bys, glaring at him. He didn't know what to do. He'd never had a problem being seen with Ginny in the past, but this felt different; it was a lot more intimate than having a conversation in the middle of the hallway. His eyes locked with a Gryffindor and he wrapped both arms around the sobbing girl, stroking her hair. That was enough to disgust the lion and he walked away, giving Draco the opportunity to try and hush Ginny, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

"I can't do this," she wailed into his jumper. Her grip tightened around the boy as he just continued to stroke her hair.

"Do what, Weasley?" he asked.

"This," she said, pulling away. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin, a deathly pale. "Everybody hates me and it's all your fault."

"The Gryffs getting you down?" he said, in a feeble attempt to get a smile to creep its way across Ginny's face, which flopped tremendously as her glare pierced him. "Sorry. Kidding."

"This is serious, Draco. Maybe you can deal with people talking about you like you're nothing, but I sure as hell can't."

"So, what you're saying is, you don't want to talk to me any more?" he asked, taking a step back away from her.

"That's not what I'm saying at all!"

"Well," Draco said, rushing a hand through his hair, "that's the impression I'm getting."

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered.

"Don't be," Draco said, turning on his feet. He walked away.

Ginny wanted to muster up enough confidence to call him back before he disappeared from her view completely but she couldn't. She felt upset, but she had no tears left to cry.


	9. Of Owls And Apologies

As soon as he entered the building, the warmth of the air immediately hit him. But that heat wasn't enough to warm the chill in his heart that was lingering. He didn't know what had come over him. Part of him felt like he should go back and find Ginny, who undoubtedly was still situated in the exact place he left her. But the other part of him didn't care.

_Who cares if she's hurt? I'm hurt too. _

And then Draco really thought about it. He was _hurt_ by that interaction, and surely that must mean something.

He made his way down to the dungeon, avoiding the stares of cocky Gryffindors thinking they had a one-up on him because he was friendly with one of them. He made a mental note to be sure to put them back in their place when his mind was a little bit clearer. He didn't like the Gryffindors thinking that they were in any way better than he was; besides, he was certain that it wasn't only him who believed that those who thought they were of more importance than him were deluded. He reassured himself with those thoughts.

When he reached the entrance to the dungeons he uttered the password and quickly stepped inside. He wasn't in the mood for anyone to stop and talk to him today. He just wanted to be out of the presence of people for a while, and he made that his new mission.

As he shoved passed people in the Slytherin common room, he felt arms either side of him grasp his shoulders in an attempt to get his attention, followed by annoyed grunting when he didn't give them any sort of reaction. When Draco Malfoy put his mind to something and made a decision, he stuck to it. Sometimes his strong-willed nature - or as some liked to call it, stubbornness - worked to his own advantage.

Another advantage he had was having his own dorm room that year. Because some people just didn't show up for the new school term that year, there were many rooms made spare, and Draco claimed one as soon as he realised he could. It felt nice to him to have his own space for whatever it was he needed to do. And right now what he needed to do was lie down and have a proper think about what his next course of action was.

His last conversation with Ginny was the only thing that could come to mind, no matter how much he tried to waft it away. Moments like those were when he knew that he had to do something about it. Usually Draco had no problem getting rid of unwanted thoughts; it had almost become second nature to him at this point. But this was different, it was like a parasite on his brain, sucking out all his concentration, leaving only the image of Ginny Weasley crying behind.

He shoved his hand through his hair once again. It was turning into a nervous habit, and if nothing else, it was making his blond locks greasier and oilier a lot quicker than if he left his hair alone. He was foolish, and he kicked himself for acting so. Draco knew he had been a little bit rash with the girl. He sighed. He knew he had to go back to her. He had fabricated a story in his head based around a few words that she had said and he had been an idiot for getting annoyed at her. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a few moments and took a deep breath.

**. . .**

The blond awoke from his slumber about an hour later. He only realised this because the clocks hands had moved positions and the chatter downstairs has significantly lessened. To the rest of the world, sixty minutes had passed, but those sixty minutes didn't even feel like sixty seconds to him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a nap during the day. He was sure it must have been when he was a very young boy, if even.

Draco felt groggy sitting up in bed. His brain was telling him to go and find Ginny and offer her an apology, but his fatigue argued against this. Instead, he decided to pen a note to her. Not a satirical one like the letter she received in the Great Hall that morning, but a real one, offering the deepest of apologies to the girl. If there was one thing Draco Malfoy was good at it was charming young witches.

He reached for the parchment that was lying on his bedside table, along with a quill and ink, and began to write in the same beautiful cursive he had before; except this time he was dotting his i's and crossing his t's with adoration and passion. He was determined to make this wrong right again. The only trait he admired that flowed through the Malfoy family was their nobility, and he was thankful that he had adopted this trait from a young age. It had served him well over the years.

_My dearest Ginerva, _

_I think you know why I'm writing this note, and I think you definitely weren't expecting it. But you see, my dear, us Malfoys are full of surprises - the difference between myself and the rest, however, is that all of my surprises are good surprises, and this is exactly what that is. _

_I am offering my most gracious apologies to you. I acted in such a way that I definitely shouldn't have, and because of that I have been feeling awful with myself, but most importantly for you. I hope you accept me back. _

_D.M_

_ps. meet me at the Astronomy Tower after curfew._

He made his way out of the room, note in hand, held in place by a very tight grip. He walked to the Astronomy Tower to find an owl to deliver the note to Ginny, and that was where he remained for what was left of the day.


	10. Astronomy Tower

**A/N I quite like this chapter. It's cute without being sappy and fluffy, I think. I hope you like reading this as much as I liked writing it!**

* * *

The orange haze of the sunset soon drifted away, revealing the midnight sky scattered with tiny orbs of light contrasted against a dark backdrop. Even though it was night time, the whole area was lit up by the moon, which Draco decided was purposely shooting beams of light into his eyes through the gaps in the Astronomy Tower.

He didn't know how much longer he was going to wait there. He had been there for hours at that point and his guest had not yet made an appearance. He'd convinced himself that she'd come, he'd never had any problems with people doing what he wanted in the past. His usually calculating mind was disintegrating due his wallowing in self pity and regret. He'd been made a fool of.

Draco decided enough was enough and made his way out of the tower. He knew then that it had been a mistake and he instantly felt like a fool. He was an idiot for convincing himself that Ginny Weasley was worth this much of a head ache. Everything is always better in hindsight he supposed.

The staircase spiralled for what seemed like an eternity, and it was an eternity that Draco could feel actually ageing him. He shoved a hand through his hair and he raced down and down, hoping the end was in sight soon. And indeed it was. But what else was in sight was a rush of orange heading his way glistening under the moon light. And he stopped.

"Took your time, didn't you, Weasley," he remarked. His hands became well acquainted with the insides of his pockets once again.

"I ran into a bit of trouble," she replied.

She didn't look up at him; Draco assumed she was refusing to which only further pushed him into his annoyance. She held her head down, directing all of her attention to the shuffling of her feet against the crisp frost laying on the grass. A silence fell amongst them.

"I didn't think you were going to show up," Draco said, breaking the silence.

"Well, here I am," Ginny said, lifting her head while staring across the yard to the left of her.

Draco noted her red hair cascading down past her shoulders, only making her pale skin and dark eyes pop out more. Her cheekbones were high enough that the light from the sky, when reaching them, created the most beautiful shadow beneath them. But there was a deep sadness present on her face also, he'd noticed. Her cheeks were covered in red splotches, although they were light in colour, they were easily noticed due to her complexion. The red against the white only made the blotchiness look more violent. Her eyes were bloodshot and red. Everything about her was red.

"Ginny," he whispered, taking a step towards her. His annoyance was shifting slightly as he held a hand out to her, which she took. He brought her into a hug and smiled into her hair. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I'm fine, really," she muttered.

"Saying you're fine might be a good excuse when you don't resemble a fire engulfing all the happiness in the world."

"Is that you saying I'm hot?"

Draco laughed. "Shut up."

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Hypothetically, if somebody got really mad about who you talked to, what would you do?" Ginny asked, clinging to the shirt Draco was wearing.

"I'd hit them," Draco joked.

"What if they already did that?"

"Weasley," he started, "who?"

"Lavender Brown is an idiot," she replied, "she got real gobby with me earlier. And I suppose she was still in a mood because I was getting an earful from her before I came here, which resulted in getting a good punch in my stomach from her. I swear, she's worse than Parkinson."

"Damn, I really have a strong effect on Gryffindor girls, don't I?"

"You're a slimy git," Ginny whispered.

"Only the best for you."

Ginny pulled away from his hug for the second time that day, and Draco was prepared for another outburst from her, but it never came. She just stared into his eyes and smiled.

"You're really not so bad, you know that?"

"Well, I know for a fact that I'm great," he winked, "but other people don't seem to agree with me."

"I do," she said.

"Good enough for me, I suppose."

"How about we head up that tower then?" she suggested, grinning. "We could have a weird camp-out except the tent's replaced with a tower."

"Do you not want to head back? I mean, it's late. I'm sure people will be wondering where you are."

"I'm sure they are, but I just want to spend some time with you right now, if that's alright?"

Draco took her hand and led her up the stairs. It took another eternity to climb the stairs, but instead of feeling aged, he felt replenished, youthful, renewed. It was an eternity he wouldn't mind being more acquainted with.


	11. Morning Adoration

**A/N I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I really, really enjoyed reading it! Drinny warms my heart.**

* * *

"You know," Ginny said upon arrival at the top of the tower, "I've never really spent any time up here. It's beautiful."

She grabbed Draco's hand and raced over the the edge of the tower, glee written on her face. Draco was taken aback slightly at the hand holding. It wasn't that he objected to his hand being held by her or anything, he just didn't expect that anybody, let alone a Weasley, would actually want to. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"What's got you all giddy then, Weasley?" he asked.

"Look at that moon!" she exclaimed in awe. "Isn't it just absolutely radiant?"

"You're such a sappy mug," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Excuse you, you're the one who told me to come here."

"Yeah, so you could stare at me, not the bloody sky," he said, giving his companion a smirk.

"Shove off, Malfoy, as if I'd want to spend any time staring at you."

"You wouldn't be able to resist me if you tried," he whispered.

"You're nothing special. Don't flatter yourself."

"Hurtful," he said, sulking. "Well, on that note, I think I'm going to hit the hay. Let our camp-out begin."

Draco, using his free hand, covered the yawn that escaped from his mouth.

"Where exactly are we meant to sleep?" she asked.

Draco whipped out of his wand and muttered a charm, conjuring bedding. "The floor is our best option, Ginevra."

"How glamorous."

"Don't you dare complain. It was your suggestion."

"Right. Sorry," she replied, giggling. She picked up a pillow and the duvet and walked over to the far side of the tower. "And where's your stuff?"

"You're kind of holding my duvet," he replied, pillow in hand, walking over to her. "Hope you don't mind sharing."

"As if people didn't hate me enough," she said.

"They're just jealous that I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole. I don't do commoners. They're beneath me," Draco said nonchalantly, oblivious to the disgust Ginny was feeling at his comments.

"Am I beneath you?"

"Well, you're known as a blood traitor," he began, "but you're pure-blood. So you're just slightly below my league."

"Pig."

"It's my speciality," he winked. He placed his pillow next to Ginny and laid down. "Shall we?"

Ginny released the duvet and laid down next to him. Draco sprawled the duvet over the two of them. The warmth enveloped them instantly and soon all of Ginny's worries were floating away, disintegrating into nothingness.

"Goodnight, Draco," she whispered.

"Goodnight, Ginevra," he replied.

**. . .**

Morning light illuminated the tower into its full glory. Golds and reds spiralled around the room, dancing on Draco and Ginny's faces, thrusting them into consciousness. Ginny's eyes opened and the first thing she thought of was how sore her back felt. She definitely hadn't thought through sleeping on the floor. She looked over at Draco who, despite his eyes still being pressed firmly shut, she knew was awake. She took in the calmness of his features. She'd never seen him look so stress-free and peaceful. His blond hair was messy, tangling at the ends, and his arm was wrapped protectively around Ginny's waist.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she whispered.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Falling for me?" he joked, eyes still shut.

"Never."

Ginny sat up, removing Draco's arm from her waist, and stretched, releasing herself from the stresses of the previous day. The sun was still quite low in the sky, so she assumed it wasn't more than about six in the morning. She stood up and walked towards the ledge. The remnants of the moon from the night before still lingered in the sky, but the sun was winning the fight for dominance.

"Leaving me already?"

"We will need to get going soon, won't we?"

"Not just yet. We could stay another couple hours yet."

"People will be looking for me. I'm sure people will be looking for you too. And then they'll put two and two together."

"Why do you freak out so much?"

"Because I care."

"And you think I don't?" he said.

"Well, I mean, no but-"

"Cos I do care and I think that's something people just seem to forget about me. They don't seem to realise that I also have feelings and that things also affect me even if I don't make a huge fuss over it. I do my fussing silently in my head. But trust me, if it was something that I didn't like I wouldn't be stressing over it willingly."

Ginny remained silent for a couple of moments before speaking. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Forgetting, I suppose."

"Don't be silly, Weasley," he smiled. He brought her into a hug, more for himself than anything, he needed another body to be a radiator for him as he felt the chill of the morning pressing itself into him.

He pulled her closer to him, the smell of her filled his nostrils as her hair brushed against him. Warmth radiated through Ginny's body. Draco was a lot more different to anybody she had ever met before. She knew that he was meant to be the enemy but that was the one thing she didn't see him as. Sure, he was obnoxious, and sure, he had a serious arrogance issue, but she had seen more to him than one would see from a one-off meeting with the boy; whether or not this was something Draco had intended for her to see was another matter entirely. She'd seen part of him that was actually human and not the sly ferret many others thought of him as. And she didn't know why.

She'd never have expected it to be like this, and she could only imagine what Neville and Luna were thinking at that time. They'd probably heard the disgust in the voices of the people in Gryffindor house; at least Neville, seeing as it was also his house. Her thoughts were racing from one thing to another, and she wasn't quite sure why. And then it hit her. She was falling deep. And then it all made sense to her.

"Draco," she whispered, pulling herself slightly of his embrace so she could look at him.

"Yes?" he said, his arms still lingering around her.

And then she pressed her lips quickly against his, leaving him with the taste of vanilla in his mouth. When she pulled away she refused to look at him for a few seconds, embarrassment hitting her severely. She looked up at him again. His eyes were emotionless, as if he was trying to shove something from his mind.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said.

"Don't be," Draco replied, smirking. He placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her close to him, and their lips crashed against each other.

"Is this part of the plan?" Ginny asked, giggling once they had pulled away.

"It wasn't," Draco replied incredibly nonchalantly, "but it can be now. Fool people into thinking we're together. That'll get Pansy off your back for sure."

Ginny's heart dropped along with her smile. _But I don't want to pretend._ "But I think you're forgetting about people in my house. I'd rather they didn't hate me in result of me getting one girl off my case. Besides, she's nothing compared to Gryffindors."

"Well then, scrap that idea. Heck, let's scrap the plan entirely."

"Really?"

"It's unnecessary now. I don't want to tiptoe around things and plan out all my actions. I just want to be free to do whatever I want, I don't want to have to adhere to a schedule or plan of things. Weasley, I just want to spend time with you."

"So what is this then?"

"I don't know. An experiment, perhaps."

"So I'm like your test bunny?" Ginny replied, cocking her head to the side.

"Kinky," he replied. "Here, let's get going then, shall we?"

Ginny nodded and the pair walked away from the tower, leaving the bed sheets sprawled on the floor in the past.


	12. Breakfast At Zabini's

**A/N So two days ago it was the two year anniversary of Mistakes Worth Making! I'm so happy, yet at the same time so bummed out that it's taken me this long to get this story on its feet! I wanted to upload a chapter on that day but I suppose it's better late than never. I hope you enjoy this update. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed, and read this story so far. I appreciate you all :-) as always, leave feedback if you wish. **

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"Ginny!" a voice called from a distance. It took Ginny several moments to identify the owner of the voice but it soon clicked into place once she saw their face.

"Oh, Neville! Morning," she replied, giving her friend a smile.

"People have been looking for you. I've been worried," he admitted. It was easy to tell that being in the presence of Draco was intimidating him.

Ginny slowly turned her head to the side and shot Draco an 'I told you so' look, to which he chuckled quietly to himself.

Draco cleared his throat. "Well, I'd best be off. Longbottom. Weasley."

"Malfoy," Ginny replied.

Once Draco was out of earshot, Neville eased up entirely. A smile spread across his face and his usual twinkle in his eye returned. Ginny was amazed at the sheer effect Draco had on some people.

"So," Neville began, "where were you last night?"

"Well, I was hardly going to stick around after our delightful housemate Lavender punched me, was I?" she snapped.

"That's not what I mean. She got a proper lecture after you'd left actually. Her face went bright red, it was almost comical."

"Almost?"

"Well, I'd have found it completely funny if that wasn't the result of her attacking my friend," he replied.

"I wouldn't exactly call it an attack, Neville," Ginny laughed, "and besides, I'm beyond done caring at this point what she has to say or do."

"That makes two of us then."

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Ginny asked, hoping the answer was no. She was starving but she didn't want to have to face sitting alone.

"I was heading to the Great Hall now actually. Join me?"

"Gladly," she smiled, and the two made their way into the room and assumed their usual seats.

After a few minutes of silent eating, Neville couldn't keep his curiosities inside much longer. "Ginny?"

Ginny nodded in reply.

"What's going on between you and Malfoy?"

Ginny pondered for a moment on how to answer the question. It wasn't as if she was entirely sure herself. They definitely weren't an exclusive couple or anything, that information would have been made clear to the both of them. But at the same time it would be a lie to deny that there was anything going on between the two of them. Ginny trusted Neville enough to talk to him about this sort of stuff. There weren't really any other people she would trust to not throw a hissy fit or start spreading rumours if she told them anything. Except for Luna, of course, but the problem with Luna is that she didn't want to sit through one of her lectures, so naturally Neville was the most suitable option.

"I don't know, Neville," she replied.

"Well, are you friends?"

"I guess so."

"Boyfriend-girlfriend?"

"No."

"More than friends?"

"...I don't know, Neville, that's the thing."

"Do you want to be more than friends?"

In her heart, Ginny knew that the answer was a definite yes. However she didn't know if it would be wise of her to reveal that. She never knew who may be listening in on her conversations. And besides that, she could feel eyes acting as daggers, stabbing her from all angles.

"Do people hate me, Neville?"

Neville seemed taken completely aback by Ginny's question. "Excuse me?"

"I know the things people have been saying. And I know the way they've been looking at me. I feel like I'm one of the most hated people around right now and honestly I don't know why."

"I think you're being a little bit dramatic right now, Gin, you silly goose," Neville said, giving Ginny a wink. " I don't think anybody hates you. Well, except the obvious, of course. I think some people just have the wrong idea. They're just worried that you've 'betrayed' Gryffindor by going out with a Slytherin."

"Gosh," she muttered, "why are people so childish? And even if I was going out with him, so what?" Her voice was more raised now than before and she knew that she was drawing a bit more attention to herself than she'd like and probably should, but she needed to get some of her suppressed anger out.

"No need to yell at me, Gin," he laughed.

"Sorry, Neville. Just a bit frustrated."

"I would be too if I had people hounding me about shit," he stated, taking a bite from his toast.

**. . .**

"Looks like there's trouble in paradise over there, Draco," Blaise laughed, pointing towards the Gryffindor table.

Draco and Blaise were sat at the very edge of the Slytherin table. Draco turned his gaze away from his drink and directed it towards where Blaise's finger led. Weasley was causing a ruckus. Draco internally groaned. _I had to associate with the trouble maker, didn't I?_

"Paradise, my ass," Draco muttered under his breath, taking a sip of his water.

"Shall we inspect the scene?"

"You only want to inspect my girl," Draco replied nonchalantly.

"Your girl?" Blaise said, raising an eyebrow.

"Problem?"

"None. She's a beauty," Blaise winked. "You'd better give me the details."

Draco nodded in agreement, and before he knew it Blaise was walking over to the Gryffindor table, causing Draco to follow in suit. He knew that if he didn't and Blaise got a chance to talk to Ginevra that he'd say something really stupid about him.

**. . .**

There was a tap on Ginny's shoulder, causing her to quickly turn around. She switched to defence mode because she wasn't too sure who it would be behind her. And then her eyes saw the platinum hair behind another boy, who introduced himself as Blaise.

"What's the problem over here then?" Blaise asked.

"Excuse me?" Ginny replied.

"You were screaming the face off of Longbottom a minute ago. Something about going out with someone. You're good at causing a scene, Weasley," he replied.

Ginny couldn't help but look straight past Blaise and direct her attention to Draco, who seemed to be almost hiding behind his friend. "Thanks," she muttered.

Blaise took a seat beside Ginny, and then turned to look behind him. "Malfoy, where are you manners? Sit down, you fool."

Draco reluctantly gave in and walked around the table to sit beside Neville, whom at this point had grown incredibly uncomfortable and wasn't doing a good job at not showing it.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked Draco, swirling the orange juice that was in her glass in circles.

"Ask him," Draco replied, evidently not pleased at being seated at the enemy side of the Great Hall.

"I thought it would be fun to become more acquainted with the girl who has tamed Malfoy!" Blaise exclaimed, catching the attention of a couple of girls to the right of him who immediately started whispering.

"Jeez, Zabini, would you shut your gob. People in China can fucking hear you right now," Draco groaned.

"And I'm sorry, what? Tamed Malfoy?" Ginny asked, making eye contact with Neville who seemed equally as confused as she was.

"Blaise, let's drop it," Draco pleaded.

It wasn't often that anybody saw a vulnerability to Draco Malfoy. At least not in public. But this was one of those rare occasions. Ginny and Neville were both as uncomfortable as each other, but Blaise appeared to be relishing in his friend's embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, well, I mean, you'd know wouldn't you?" Blaise whispered. "You are his girl after all."

"His what?" Ginny asked.

Before Blaise had the chance to talk, Draco was standing up and raced his way around to the other side to drag his friend away. "I'll see you later, Weasley," he said.

"So you're his girl then, eh, Gin?" Neville said, poking fun at the situation.

"Sod off," she replied, sipping her juice.


	13. His Girl

**A/N As always, thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it :-) I'd also appreciate if you read some of my other fics on here. ****I like this update a lot, I think it's cute if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy.**

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"I am actually going to kill you, Zabini," Draco mumbled, dragging his friend back to the common room at a ferocious pace. "I'm not even joking."

"What the problem, Drake?" Blaise replied, laughing.

"You're an idiot."

"Is likkle Malfoy annoyed that he got embawwassed awound his cwush?" Blaise said, teasing him.

"I'm going to kill you," Draco replied, just as sternly as the first time.

"What's the big deal, Draco? I mean, you're a thing, aren't you?"

"Not exactly," Draco said, easing his walking speed and letting go of Blaise. "We're not a thing."

"So, she's not your girl?"

"No, she is my girl."

"Does she know she's your girl?"

Draco shot a look behind him before answering. "Well, she'd better bloody know."

"Do you go on long walks by the beach? Do you talk about feelings? Do you do each other's hair?"

"Blaise, do you really think I'm in the mood for your pathetic jokes," Draco mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "And do you really think I'd let anybody touch my hair? That's the biggest joke of all."

"You're such a bloody girl, Malfoy, you git."

"I like her okay," he whispered, "I really do have feelings for her. And I know that I shouldn't. I know that our families hate each other and all that jazz, and I'll admit that I even tried to suppress the feelings but it's impossible. When I close my eyes all I see is her and when I breathe in I just breathe in the smell of her."

"You are so out of character right now, it's worrying me. It's like I don't even know you anymore."

"Go away."

"Nah, but Draco," Blaise said. His serious tone was so unlike him, but he felt that if Draco Malfoy could be a sap then Blaise Zabini could act seriously for a change. "Why don't you do anything about it?"

"What? Like ask her out?" Draco said, dumb-struck.

"No like murder her family. Yes ask her out, you idiot."

"Hey, easy to mix the two up in this instance. I mean, I'd probably get murdered for even thinking about asking her out actually. Her brothers are feisty."

"But so is she, right? That's what they say."

Draco sighed, and then smirked. "That's how I like my girls. They need a bit of spice to them."

"Are you saying she's hot?" Blaise laughed.

"Jeez, you sound just like her."

"I mean, cos if you did I'd have to agree with you there. She's hot in a nontraditional way. I didn't know somebody so plain could be so interesting at the same time, you know? All part of the blood traitor charm, I suppose." Blaise winked at his friend, resulting in him getting shoved into the wall. "Okay, sorry."

"Arrogance looks good on me, Zabini. Not so much on you."

"You're already hogging all the fun traits, let me have a bit. Didn't your mother ever teach you to share?" Blaise whined.

"I don't share."

"I bet you'd share everything with Ginny Weasley though, eh," Blaise said, nudging his friend.

"Shut up, Zabini."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

**. . .**

The day started quite slowly for Ginny, despite her encounter with Blaise and Draco that morning. Several weird looks had been shot her way throughout her classes and when she walked through the corridors, but apart from that it seemed that everybody was over the latest Hogwarts gossip.

"Hey, Ginny," Luna said.

Luna tapped Ginny on the shoulder upon arriving, breaking her out of her daydream. Her thoughts had been drifting to Draco Malfoy for the past couple of hours and she didn't know whether to stop it. But what was more alarming to her was the fact that she didn't want to stop it.

"Oh, hey, Luna. How are you?" she replied, giving a smile to the blonde.

"Oh, I'm very good. But are you okay? There seems to be a lot of wrackspurts floating around your head."

Ginny laughed and rolled her eyes a little bit. "That would explain a lot."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just a bit confused about things right now, but it's okay. It'll all be okay soon."

"If you say so, Ginny. Can I ask you something?" Luna mumbled.

"Sure!"

"Are you really Draco Malfoy's girl? I mean, that's what people are saying that he said at breakfast this morning. Half the girls in our year are scared to go near you now in fear of what he'll do!" Luna laughed.

"Oh, what a funny statement, Luna. I really have to be off now though but we'll talk later, okay!" Ginny said.

She didn't wait for Luna to say goodbye, or to try and forbid Ginny from leaving without answering the question. She walked at a quicker speed than her usual walking pace, and her heart was beating quickly. She didn't know why she was reacting the way she did.

_Maybe I'm the scared one myself?_

She shook this thought from her mind before another one popped in.

_Maybe I'm reacting this way because it sounds good. Being Draco Malfoy's girl sounds good._

Mentally, she kicked herself for being so silly. She imagined that the Golden Trio would be back from their adventures before she knew it, and everything would go back to normal again. And even if it didn't, and hypothetically if Draco did become Ginny's boyfriend, where would that leave her in terms of the Golden Trio. She knew you weren't supposed to go out with your friends' enemy, but for some reason she didn't care.

But she knew she had to do one thing. Find Draco Malfoy.

She didn't know where she was supposed to find him, or even how to find him. Sure, his platinum hair stood out in a crowd but that information was useless unless she knew what part of the school he was in. If he was in the common room, she didn't know how she expected herself to get in and talk to him; it wasn't as if Gryffindor students were allowed in to the Slytherin quarters, let alone a Weasley. She sighed and just decided to walk.

**. . .**

"I don't want to rush into anything, Blaise. It's not as if she'd say no if I asked her out or anything. You'd have to be blind or sick, or even both to reject me! I just want to make sure it's the right decision," Draco explained, shoving his hand through his hair.

"Mate, you won't shut up about her, I think you know it's the right decision for you," Blaise said, laughing, "and stop putting your hand through your hair, no wonder it always looks like a greasy mess."

"Fuck off, it does not look like a greasy mess, you idiot."

"Whatever you say, Malfoy," Blaise said. "Shall we walk? I think I've had enough of this crowd," Blaise said, standing up.

Draco followed in suit, and immediately after exiting the Slytherin common room stopped. A red hue bobbed in and out of people in a nearby corridor. He spied on the figure for several moments, before realising that Blaise had continued walking. He was in two minds about whether or not to follow Blaise and ignore the Weaslette walking towards her, or to advance on Ginny. Before he had a chance to think, a voice whispered into his ear.

"So, I'm your girl then, am I?"

Draco turned to Ginny and smirked. "Is that a title you like then, eh?"

"I don't mind it," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Listen, Weasley," he began, straightening his tie, "there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"Me first," she demanded, "I think we need to talk. People have been talking again, but now it's different. Luna told me that because people think we're going out that the girls are scared of me. I think they think you'll do something to them if they say anything to me." Ginny laughed.

"Well that's good, isn't it? And surely this will get Brown off your case. And I'm sure that Pansy will be beyond caring now."

"Why's that?"

"Because she doesn't like the chase."

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"She doesn't like running after things that aren't accessible to her, you know. She likes to just get what she wants straight away. And what she wants is me. So if I'm taken, Bob's your uncle, she's gone. Besides, she'll probably go after Blaise or somebody soon enough so there's nothing to worry about, my little lion," Draco explained, in such a tone as to poke fun at Ginny for not realising how 'obvious' it was.

"I see," Ginny said.

"Are you done now?" Draco asked.

Ginny nodded.

"I've been thinking, Weasley. Go out with me."

"Is that a request or a demand?" she replied, winking.

"A request, of course."

"Are you sure? Not worried about your reputation or anything?"

"Maybe I used to, but that's not too important to me now."

Ginny gripped lightly to the front of Draco's jumped and pulled him towards her, capturing his lips in one swift motion. It was a light, tender kiss, yet at the same time she felt it expressed everything she was feeling at that moment.

"Is that a yes?" Draco asked.

"I suppose it is," she smiled.


End file.
